Now Binky I fear it did. About 4 carriages emptied out in Longford as the remaining 5/6 rolled on to Carrick. The good news is they didnāt disembark in Dromod - thereās fuck all to pillage in Dromod.
Hope Kildare hold tough on this. Absolute farce if the GAA just ploughed on and fixed Kildareās home game in Croker without any consultation and agreement with their county board (though not altogether surprising). Since Cian OāNeill is appearing on the main news Iām going to assume this is the case.
All the gaa have to say is grand ye can host it in newbridge but if there is an injury or insurance claim, we are hands off and it will be on Kildare county board.
Theyāll be up to the pale with their caps doffed
If Kildare could get Cavan to back them up theyād be in a far stronger position. Cavan probably donāt feel that strongly about it though given they wouldnāt have been getting a home game either way and they donāt get to play in Croke Park very much.
At this stage does the āgetting to play st Croke Parkā hold any traction .?
Cavan have played there bit over the last 5 years and letās be honest the crowed would be small on Saturday even it all counties wanted to play there .
I donāt think theyāve played there in the championship since 2013?
When Roscommon and Tyrone had to play their All-Ireland quarter-finals in Castlebar and Clones respectively in 2001 they kicked up stink about it.
Mayo supporters were up in arms at having to go to Limerick rather than Croke Park for the semi-final replay in 2014.
I find it ironic that some people are saying that Dublin v Donegal should be played in Clones given that that would mean none of Donegalās Super 8 fixtures would be in Croke Park.
I hope Kildare do dig their heels in here though as theyāre clearly in the right. It doesnāt matter it theyāve given up home advantage for other fixtures - thatās a complete red herring. They donāt want to for this, and they shouldnāt have to. Capacity issues are irrelevant too - if people canāt get tickets, tough.
I do feel thereās an underhand agenda at play from the GAA here - probably both to placate Sky, and also with the unspoken aim of increasing Mayoās chance of winning.
The GAA didnāt pick their enemy wisely here. It just so happens that three of the most high profile sports journalists in the country are from Kildare.
One is a full on controversialist, the other two rely on pushing controversy to stoke debate. All three will relentlessly push the Kildare position.